STAFF at a North-East call centre rolled up their sleeves this week to give blood in memory of a colleague who died through blood loss.

Scott Gileroy, who worked at Convergys' call centre, in Newcastle, died in a motorbike accident last year.

Staff - led by employee Fran Watt, whose son-in-law Scott received 30 pints of blood from the National Blood Service (NBS) in a fight to save his life - aimed to replace that amount by giving blood themselves.

Eighty workers signed up to give blood in Newcastle city hall's assembly rooms on Tuesday, with more than half of them donating blood for the first time.

As part of the same campaign, the Convergys team persuaded staff to join the Bone Marrow Registry to help employee Ian Blythe, whose young daughter has leukaemia.

Workers joined the registry to increase the chances of people like Ian's daughter finding a good match for transplant.

Ms Watt said: "The impetus for organising this session was to give something back to the National Blood Service who were brilliant in the fight to save Scott's life.

"We had a very positive response from our work colleagues, many of whom have not considered giving blood before, but due to the circumstances now feel it is something they can do."

If your company would like to become a NBS Partner for Life, contact their hotline on 08457 711711